Sunday, October 28, 2007

If You Were Made Completely of One Substance...

I had a particularly interesting Shabbat and one of the best parts of it was the statement, "So and So is made of Plastic." The idea was to connote the person's character traits and qualities through that statement. So plastic has all kinds of connotations- plastic can be flexible, transparent, rigid or unyielding depending on how it is made.

Hence the question: If you were made completely of one substance, what would it be?

The substance has to accurately describe you to some extent- it has to relate to your personality and character traits.

Anyway, when I asked my friend what I would be, he said "You'd be made of sparkles!" So it'd be either that, for me, or crystal. Crystal reflects and refracts light, throws off rainbows, is fragile and delicate and easily breakable but you can still make pretty things out of it.

11 comments:

Dustfinger
said...

I think I'm made of glass.

Glass is a very shiny substance (made of sand somehow?). Light passes through it, and yet when it does, there's a fantastic beam of colors. I try seeing everything through a more 'positive light', and making life seem more colorful and interesting. But glass is also easily breakable. Similarly, I'm pretty sensitive, and usually take things personally. If you hurt me, I'm easily 'shattered' and it's hard to pick up all the pieces. Glass is very pretty though- I once went to a glass-blowing place, and it was really cool. You can expand it, and make it into anything you want, and it looks elegant. Glass doesn't really have any facets either. It does have sides, though, and it can be cut into interesting shapes, or blown into big or small goblets or decorations. I have many expressions, but it's not always great showing your emotions in public. I guess you can say that I'm good at acting/pretending to appear as one thing, while I actually feel as another.

That's fascinating, although I'm sorry about the last bit of it. Seems it's something we all have to learn... So why aren't you crystal, like me? What makes you glass instead? Although it seems we have related qualities.

Because you have many facets. You have many sides to your personality: You're outgoing, smart, pretty, nice, a good companion, willing to help others, an avid reader, and so many other things. A lot of those 'facets' define who you are.I'm just simple. One-sided. You know?

You're just simple and one-sided? I would tend to disagree with you for a variety of reasons. But we shall continue this discussion elsewhere.

One point, however- even if you were to be correct in your regarding yourself as simplistic, that's a quality that suggests a kind of wholeness, a completeness, a temimus that I don't have. Jacob was described as an "ish tam," a simple man. But was he really? Was this man, who wrestled with angels, as simple as he is depicted as being? Even if so, consider his role in Judaism and how much he had to give. It is obviously the same with you.

The fact that I am more fragmented than you are is not necessarily cause for praise...

Tnspr569,

Thanks, but I'd differ. I don't like diamonds- they are cold and hard and cruel; they draw blood and they are unbreakable. I would not like to be any of these things. The way you meant it, though, was kind, so thanks.

Glass is made from refining silica and is fairly inert(it doesn't react with other chemicals easily), so that's interesting.

I have too many properties to associate myself with a substance. I'm "star stuff", I guess. or maybe a unique snowflake(laugh). I'd like to know which substance others would choose for me, but no one knows me that well.

I've said this before... but it never hurts to repeat... that I think I'm made of whatever fire is made of. I can be passionate and heated and unstoppable and destructive and warm and protective and bright and dangerous... and sometimes all of these at the same time. So when people are dealing with me, they are really playing with fire! : )

I would be made of wool plaid. You know, the kind that cheapy uniform skirts are made out of? The plaid contains varying stripes, squares and threads of different colors and thicknesses -- and all are visible. Plaid has dimension. It might appear to be a mishmash or all one color, but if you look closely you can see that it's really made up of many different ones, and some are brighter than others. It would be wool because while it's hardy, if you wear it down too much, it tears and gets thinner and more vulnerable. But if you treat it properly, the wool just gets softer, and doesn't rip.

This is a very interesting question indeed. I don't know if this actually qualifies as a substance per se, but I would respond with "shadows." I don't mean that in any sort of creepy/evil way, but rather in the sense that shadows have the ability to blend in with their surroundings and go unnoticed (who really pays attention to a shadow anyway?), and more often than not I can slip into a crowded area and go totally unnoticed. In addition, shadows provide refuge from the blazing sun, creating an area of cooler temperature that is pleasing as it is protective - and I have an aspect of my personal nature wherein I always have this desire to act as the protector for my friends, even against overwhelming odds (who can really fight back against the sun?). I am more reserved than outgoing, hence the coolness of shadow vs. the heat of light. I also have a tendency to randomly pop up behind/next to people when they least expect it (sometimes this is intentional, sometimes not) so I can basically become one with their shadow until I reveal myself. I also fancy the idea of walking in the shadows, giving my full allegience to neither the Light nor the Dark Side.